The App 100: The world’s greatest apps

from Tech insider

There’s an app for everything these days.But with millions of apps at our fingertips, it can be harder than ever to find the best of the best.

For the past several years, Business Insider has run The App 100, a handpicked collection of the 100 best mobile apps in the world. This year, Tech Insider is carrying the torch.

In this list you’ll find popular juggernauts, like Facebook and Snapchat, but you’ll also discover hidden gems that haven’t hit the top of the App Store’s charts or garnered mainstream appeal yet. Every app has been chosen by Tech Insider because it serves a real purpose, whether making life easier, better, or just more fun.

Social networking is one of the largest categories of apps on this list — a mark of how much they’re transforming human interactions around the world. On-demand apps are a new category that has exploded in popularity, thanks largely to the worldwide prevalence of Uber.

We’ve also got apps for: productivity, news and reading, health and education, entertainment and music, photography, travel, money, shopping and food, and of course, games. Keep an eye out for the Tech Insider “best of” badge in each category for the one app that stands out from the rest.

Facebook Messenger is becoming the one app to rule them all.

Facebook

Facebook’s decision to break Messenger out of its main app in 2014 turned out to be a very smart move. Messenger now has 700 million users worldwide, and it’s become much more than a way to send text messages to friends.

Messenger can now send money, make video and phone calls over the internet, and send stickers and animated GIFs with ease. When Facebook’s virtual assistant “M” becomes available outside of San Francisco, Messenger will be able to do anything from order a pair of shoes to call your cable company for you.

If the future is one app that does everything, Messenger is poised to be a big winner.

Facebook is the most popular app of all time.

Facebook

Facebook is the most downloaded app of all time, according to the app analytic company App Annie. It’s used by over 1 billion people.

There’s also a good chance that, out of all the apps on your phone, you use Facebook’s the most. The News Feed is the most coveted avenue for publishers, and many news organizations are part of Facebook’s Instant Articles program, so some of their stories are hosted directly inside the Facebook app.

Video in the Facebook app has also taken off, and the largest social network in the world sees the News Feed consisting mostly of video content within two years. That would explain why Facebook is so interested in virtual reality — it snapped up the VR company Oculus for $2 billion. 360 degree video in the News Feed could be just the beginning of what’s to come.

It’s changed the way restaurants advertise (When have millions of filtered images of delicious food ever been so accessible?), how live events are reported, and how creative people share their work with the world.

Even after its acquisition by Facebook for $1 billion in 2012, Instagram has proven that it’s focused on what’s gotten it this far: the community.

“Calling Instagram a photo-sharing app is like calling a newspaper a letter-sharing book, or a Mozart grand era symphony a series of notes,” Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom recently told The Guardian. “Instagram is less about the medium and more about the network.”

WhatsApp is the most popular way to talk with people around the world.

If you don’t understand why Facebook would pay a staggering $19 billion to buy WhatsApp, then you probably don’t use the app.

WhatsApp is used by over 900 million people around the world, and a whopping 30 billion messages have been sent through its servers. Its popularity took off because it uses an internet connection to send messages instead of traditional cellular networks, so messages don’t count against the allotment from your wireless carrier.

Another reason WhatsApp spread quickly around the world is that it populates your friends list with phone numbers already on your phone — you can find a contact that works without having to look up a separate email address or username.

WeChat is huge in China.

WeChat

If you live outside of China, it’s unlikely that you use — or perhaps have even heard of – WeChat. But with more than 600 million users, WeChat is one of the largest messaging apps in the world. And to call it a messaging app is actually an undersell because it does so much more.

You can use WeChat to do just about anything, including play games, send money to people, make video calls, hail a taxi, order food, buy movie tickets, read the news, book a doctor appointment, and more.

But Snapchat is also about consuming media. The app’s Discover section features interactive content from a range of publishers, including BuzzFeed, Mashable, CNN, People, and Vice. The goal seems to be keeping Snapchat’s users in the app as long as possible — and it’s working.

Twitter is where news breaks.

Bloomua/Shuttershock

Whether you use it or not, there’s no denying that Twitter has changed the way news is spread and reported. When the riots in Ferguson, Missouri began, people on the ground shared firsthand accounts of what was happening there on Twitter. And when events like the recent presidential primary debates take place, Twitter lights up with commentary, jokes, GIFs, and quick analysis.

Periscope is revolutionizing live broadcasts.

What Twitter did for making micro-status updates, Periscope could do for live video broadcasts. That may explain why Twitter bought the app and its small team in February before it even launched.

If you’ve never used Periscope before, here’s how it works: download the app to your phone, log in, and start a live video stream with your phone’s camera. Your friends on Periscope and Twitter will be notified to tune in, and viewers can interact with broadcasts by commenting and leaving virtual hearts.

You can choose to save your broadcast for people to view on Periscope later, but every video shared on the service expires after 24 hours.

Reporter Paul Ronzheimer recently used Periscope to document his journey with a group of Syrian refugees from Greece to Germany. “In Germany we have been having a big discussion about the intensity of media coverage of this story. But on Periscope, everybody could see it was live,” he told The Guardian. “It happened. No one was cutting it, no one was putting a two- or three-minute piece together after we filmed it. And for Germans, it was really good to understand the problems the refugees have been facing.”

Yik Yak is hot on college campuses.

Apple App Store

Yik Yak, a social network that’s mainly used by college students, is what you get when you combine the community-driven aspect of Reddit with complete anonymity.

Yik Yak is location centric, so if you leave your college’s town you’re effectively out of what the service calls the “herd.” But the app will let you “set your herd” so you can have a peek into the hive mind of your alma mater’s student body after you graduate.

There is no identity attached to messages on Yik Yak, which opens the floodgates for all kinds of flavorful talk (hookup requests are a dime a dozen). Users can up-vote messages and comments they like and even post photos, as long as no one’s personally identifiable information is shared. Regardless of the ban on sharing personal information, the service has still forced schools to deal with cyber bullying like never before.

“Yik Yak is the Wild West of anonymous social apps,” Danielle Keats Citron, a law professor at University of Maryland and the author of “Hate Crimes in Cyberspace” told The New York Times earlier this year. “It is being increasingly used by young people in a really intimidating and destructive way.”

Kik makes messaging easy and (potentially) anonymous.

Kik

It’s difficult to mention Yik Yak without bringing in Kik, the hugely popular app that, unlike other messaging apps, doesn’t require a phone number. Because you only need a username and an internet connection to use Kik, the app has become the main way for people to chat over internet without exchanging personal information. (It rarely takes more than a few minutes on Yik Yak before you see a question like, “What’s your kik?”).

Pinterest is all about helping you find inspiration.

Pinterest

Pinterest describes itself as “a visual bookmarking tool that helps you discover and save creative ideas.” Users can “pin” images to the service and share them in collections, or “boards,” that other users can follow.

The social network has 100 million monthly active users, the majority of which are women.

Timehop will make you feel nostalgic.

The premise of Timehop is simple: connect your social media accounts, and the app shows you what you shared online a year ago, two years ago, and even further back.

It’s like getting a window into your past life on social media every day.

Earlier this year, Timehop told Business Insider that the app could eventually show you more than posts on social media, like rides with Uber, the songs you listened to on Spotify, your heath tracker data, and even your text messages. The end goal is to be come the ultimate digital archive of your life.

Uber unlocked the on-demand economy.

Uber

No app exemplifies the burgeoning on-demand app economy more than Uber, which made hailing a ride with a smartphone app go mainstream. Tap a button to summon a car, tell it where you want to go in the app, and pay for the ride with your credit card stored in the app.

If the company has its say, Uber could eventually become the way we get everything from our packages to our groceries.

UberEATS, the company’s meal delivery service, is already delivering lunch in Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto, and the UberRUSH delivery service works in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago.

Postmates will bring you your next meal … and just about anything else.

Postmates

Postmates was one of the first apps to popularize on-demand food delivery, and it’s steadily grown its footprint to dozens of cities and scored delivery partnerships with big chains like Walgreens, Chipotle, Starbucks, and the Apple Store.

The app lets you temporarily hire a delivery person to run an errand for you. It’s typically used for food deliveries from restaurants that don’t tie into apps like Seamless, but you can also ask Postmate workers to get anything for you from any store.

Shyp will deliver your packages for you.

Shyp

Shyp takes the hassle out of mailing stuff. It’s really that simple. Using the mobile app, you take a picture of whatever you want to mail, and a Shyp courier comes to your door and takes it to a nearby facility where it’s expertly packaged and sent on its way.

The app’s most recent update lets you create a user name for your address so people can send you things by entering only your name. There’s also a built-in packaging tracker that works for senders and Shyp recipients.

By taking your interactions with the post office out of the equation, Shyp has proven that it delivers an experience people want. So far, the startup is only operational in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago, but the company told Tech Insider that it’s seeing 20% more shipments each month.

Instacart will do your grocery shopping.

Instacart

If Instacart has its way, you’ll never have to worry about getting your groceries again. Select what you want from a local store, like Whole Foods or Costco, and an Instacart worker will do your shopping for you and deliver it to your door. The service is only available in 19 states so far, but it’s seen steady growth since it launched in 2012.

Blue Apron will send you meals to make.

Blue Apron has exploded in popularity this year. It’s currently delivering fresh ingredients and original recipes straight to peoples’ doors to the tune of 3 million meals per month.

Here’s how it works: The company sends you all the measured ingredients and instructions you need to make a meal. It’s up to you to do all the chopping, slicing, and cooking though. But it’s a fun alternative to going to the grocery store and trying to figure everything out yourself.

Back in July, Blue Apron released an iPhone app that makes it easy to order ingredients and view the startup’s recipes.

Seamless makes ordering takeout a breeze.

Seamless

Seamless changed takeout by allowing people to order food through their computer and smartphone instead of calling a restaurant. The service, which is part of the online and mobile food ordering company GrubHub, allows people to order from around 35,000 restaurants in more than 900 cities.

Slack is where you communicate with your coworkers.

Slack

Think of Slack like the modern equivalent of an internet chat room that eliminates the need for email. Log in to communicate with your colleagues in public channels or private groups, share files, and more.

The app is geared toward businesses large and small that need a way for their employees to communicate internally, and it’s hugely popular. Other apps and services can integrate directly with Slack too, which makes it kind of like a command center for getting stuff done at work.

Thousands of companies use Slack, including Tech Insider. Your team should be using it too.

Dark Sky will tell you when it’s about to rain.

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Most weather apps give you a basic forecast. But Dark Sky takes it a step further with notifications that warn you when it’s about to rain or snow in your exact location. It’s also an excellent app with a beautifully minimalist design and access to weather radar.

It’s like having a weather psychic in your pocket, and you’ll be glad you bought it the next time you almost get caught in the rain.

1Password will generate and store your passwords.

It seems like there’s another massive customer data breach every day, and it’s more important than ever to make sure your passwords are not only strong but also unique for each service you use.

The problem with passwords is that they can be easy to forget, especially if you have more than a few, which you should.

But thankfully there’s 1Password. It’s the best app for managing your web logins and sensitive information. It has a user-friendly interface and it’s available on whatever device you have with you at the moment, whether it be your desktop, phone, or even Apple Watch.

1Password will generate secure passwords for you and fill them in on websites using its free Safari and Google Chrome extensions.

Price: Free, but there’s an optional upgrade with more features for $9.99.Available on:iOS, Android

Dropbox is an easy way to store files in the cloud.

Dropbox

With cloud storage services like Apple’s iCloud Drive and Google Drive, it may seem like the biggest tech companies have the cloud storage market cornered.

But Dropbox is a reliable and well-designed cloud storage app that works well on multiple devices.

You can automatically upload photos from your phone and store them in Dropbox, comment on documents you have shared with other people, and of course browse everything you have stored online.

Microsoft Outlook is an email app for getting things done.

iTunes

Leave it to Microsoft to take one of the most despised corporate email platforms, Exchange, and give it one of the best mobile email apps.

Thanks to its acquisition of the email app Acompli late last year, the Microsoft Outlook app has become quite good. It integrates with Exchange (of course), Office 365, Outlook.com, Apple’s iCloud, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail. There’s a built-in calendar view, quick access to files stored in attachments, and some smart filters that once you use, you find hard to live without.

Sunrise is a simple, smart calendar.

Google Play

Let’s face it: The default calendar app on your phone probably doesn’t cut it. Sunrise, which is owned by Microsoft, is like the social-savvy cousin to the Outlook app. It integrates with Facebook, Evernote, Asana, TripIt, Songkick, Wunderlist, and Meetup to help add the little details to your schedule that eventually add up.

Faces of people you’re meeting with are filled in by social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter. The Weather app shows the forecast on a given date, and Google Maps integration gets you directions to where you need to go. And that’s just scratching the surface.

Wunderlist is a collaborative to-do app.

Wunderlist

There’s no shortage of capable to-do apps in the App Store, but for most people, Wunderlist is the best option. It’s easy to use, offers a nice mix of customization, and can do collaborative task management. It’s also available as an app on just about every modern phone, tablet, and PC imaginable.

Wunderlist, which is owned by Microsoft, is free to use, but there’s a pro version with more features for businesses that costs a small monthly subscription.

Naked Apartments will help you find your next apartment.

Naked Apartments

If you’re on the hunt for an apartment, try out the Naked Apartments app. The service works directly with brokers and landlords to find low or no fee rentals and lets you message owners directly and schedule viewings.

Plus, you’ll have access to an incredibly handy renter’s guide that will save you a lot of headaches.

Day One will help you record your memories.

Day One

Day One is a beautiful journaling app that lets you record memories with photos, videos, links, and more. It supports syncing with iCloud and Dropbox and will even let you publish entries online to be shared with others.

Slice is the ultimate package tracker.

Slice

Slice is not only the smartest package tracker we know but also a great way to save money on stuff you buy online.

Slice connects to your email account and automatically recognizes tracking numbers for packages to track their progress for you so you know when they arrive. It also sends you alerts for price drops on the items you buy so you can claim the cheaper price from the retailer before your window of opportunity expires.

Paper will help you capture ideas.

FiftyThree

Paper by FiftyThree was one of the first hit iPad apps, and with the recent release of its iPhone version, it’s no longer just an app for drawing or making charts.

You can use your iPhone’s camera to create visual notes, make a checklist of things to buy at the grocery store, or use your finger to draw up a quick sketch and share it to get feedback from your other friends who use the app.

Workflow will automate tasks on your iPhone.

Workflow lets you do all kinds of things on iOS that aren’t possible with individual apps alone. It’s tagline is “powerful automation made simple.”

You drag and drop “actions” together to make apps talk to each other in creative ways. Examples of what you can do with Workflow on the iPhone include: turn multiple photos in your camera roll into an animated GIF, download the audio from a YouTube video as a MP3, get an Uber to your next calendar appointment, and much, much more.

It’s pretty incredible that one app is able to tap into so much unused potential in the iPhone.

iTranslate breaks down language barriers.

iTranslate

When two people don’t speak the same language, it can be nearly impossible for them to communicate. The app iTranslate helps overcome language barriers by allowing you to quickly translate back and forth between 90+ languages.

You can even speak into your phone or PC’s microphone and have what you’re saying translated into another language.

Google Now is a futuristic digital assistant.

Google

On Android, Google Now trumps Apple’s Siri in just about every way.

It learns from your behavior from Google searches, calendar events, and emails to deliver you information you want to see, like sports scores from teams you like and flight information from itineraries sent to your Gmail. Best of all, the digital assistant is just a swipe away on your home screen once you install its launcher app.

On the iPhone, Google Now’s capabilities are more toned down and confined to the main Google app. But the app still delivers helpful information at a glance, like the day’s weather forecast and driving conditions. Its voice search capabilities are also more reliable than Siri.

Pocket will help you save articles to read later.

Pocket

Bookmarking articles is so 10 years ago — unless you use Pocket. The service lets you save anything you come across on your smartphone or desktop computer to come back to later. Lots of apps integrate directly with Pocket to let you save articles and videos.

The app itself can download stories in a clean, easily readable interface for offline reading. It even reads text to you with a Siri-like voice. You can also share (with comments) articles with other Pocket users, and the service learns what you like and recommends more articles you might find interesting.

NYT Now is great for digesting the news.

iTunes

The New York Times exemplifies how to make a great news app with NYT Now. The app is run by a dedicated team at the Times and updated throughout the day with breaking news, features, stories from other publications, and easily digestible breakdowns of the day’s news highlights. Even better, you can use it for free, even if you don’t subscribe to The New York Times.

Nuzzel shows you what your friends are reading.

iTunes

Nuzzel knows the stories your friends are talking about on Twitter and suggests them for you to read. Not only are you seeing the most talked about articles from around the web in your feed, but you also see them with comments from accounts that you follow.

Flipboard is a beautiful magazine of stories you want to read.

Flipboard

Flipboard has been in the App Store for a long time, but even with the introduction of the Apple News app in iOS 9, it’s managed to stay relevant.

Like Apple News, Flipboard pulls in stories from online publications and displays them in a mobile-optimized interface. Where Flipboard stands out is its ability to let you see what other users are reading through the app. You can also make your own “magazine” of content you like and share it with others on Flipboard or through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Amazon Kindle is great for reading e-books.

With access to over 3,000,000 books and audiobooks, the Kindle app is a no-brainer for reading.

It works on and syncs across Android, iOS, the desktop, and, of course, your Kindle, so your reading progress is up to date wherever you go.

The formatting options, built-in dictionary, and search capabilities are great, but the real killer feature is Amazon’s Whispersync For Voice technology, which lets you go back and forth between reading text and listening to an audiobook. For now, the feature is available on 60,000 titles.

Sworkit is the best workout app.

Sworkit

Sworkit uses a combination of aerobic, strength, resistance, and flexibility workouts to create routines that work for all kinds of different fitness goals.

The app has been scientifically proven to work, too. A recent analysis of 30 popular free fitness apps by a team of sports scientists found that Sworkit Lite was the most closely aligned with the American College of Sports Medicine’s training guidelines. Tech Insider science writer Kevin Loria swears by it.

Sworkit has a “Lite” version that’s free to use with ads and a “Pro” version that costs $3.99 to remove ads and unlock features, like the ability to save and build multiple custom workouts.

Lark is your personal health coach.

Lark

Lark uses a mix of artificial intelligence and human experts to help people lose weight and get fitter by tracking their workouts. The app uses a texting interface to make it seem like you’re communicating one-on-one with a personal health coach.

The idea is to take the complexity out of tracking meals and exercises. Just tell Lark what you had to eat and it will give you nutrition coaching based on your goals and past eating habits.

The app also uses your smartphone and Apple Watch’s sensors to track your workouts for you.

Lark was named Forrester Research’s most innovative digital health product of the year. The app is free to use and offers enterprise pricing for coaching teams or patients and working with health care providers.

Headspace will help you meditate.

iTunes

British meditation teacher Andy Puddicombe trained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk before he made Headspace, an iPhone app that pitches itself as a “gym membership for your mind.” Certain meditation techniques have been scientifically proven to work, and Headspace has been downloaded over 3 million times since its release in 2012.

Here’s how it works: hundreds of hours of original meditation exercises are broken down into guided and unguided lessons that range from 2 to 60 minutes long. Some of the benefits it promises include “better self awareness,” “less stress and worry,” and the guarantee that you’ll “smile more.” The app tracks your progress and even lets you pair with a buddy for accountability.

The app is free to use up until the completion of level 1, and from there it’s $12.99 per month month or $94.99 per year.

“The App Store is a perfect distribution channel for an intervention like this,” Ustwo’s Alana Wood, who led the development of Moodnotes, told Tech Insider in August. “If people learn something about themselves, whether it’s something that makes them happy more often or not, or it’s helped them unpack a situation from a different angle, I think it’s worth the cost of a cup of coffee.”

Human is a way to track your activity and share it with friends.

Human

Human uses the iPhone’s tracking sensors to detect when you’re walking, running, and on a bike ride and displays that information in a beautiful interface. You can think of Human, which was named as one of Apple’s best apps of 2014 in the App Store, as a better version of the stock Health app that comes on your iPhone.

It gives you daily activity challenges and lets you set up a club of other Human users for organizing workouts and keeping each other accountable.

Duolingo will help you learn another language.

Duolingo

Duolingo tries to make learning another language manageable. The app breaks down complicated curriculum into easily digestible lessons that are designed to motive you with points and unlockable power-ups. The service itself is completely free and doesn’t require you to drop cash during the learning process.

The goal is to make you fluent in one of the 13 supported languages, and the app will even remind you to brush up on lessons you didn’t score so well on the first time

Khan Academy will help you learn just about anything.

iTunes

Khan Academy is a non-profit trying to revolutionize the distribution of free education. The app gives you free access to 10,000 videos and lessons in math, science, economics, history, and many more subjects.

The iPad app also includes 150,000 interactive, Common Core-aligned math exercises with instant feedback and step-by-step instructions and hints. It also supports handwriting recognition for writing down answers to questions.

NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT have all partnered with Khan Academy to offer custom lessons.

Spotify is a great app for streaming music.

Spotify

Spotify is the best streaming music service for most people. As competition in the streaming music space has heated up — Apple’s long-awaited Apple Music service launched over the summer — Spotify has been adding some great new features. One of those is Discover Weekly, which builds a custom playlist each week for every Spotify user.

The app supports free listening on shuffle with ads, while a Spotify Premium subscription unlocks everything, including offline mode for when you can’t stream.

Netflix is for streaming movies and binge watching shows.

Netflix

If you haven’t spent a weekend binge-watching a Netflix original series like “House of Cards” or “Orange is the New Black,” you’re missing out. For a base monthly subscription (plans start at $7.99, but most popular is the $9.99 per month plan), you get access to all of the shows and movies on Netflix, and you can watch them on pretty much any device.

The app itself is easy to navigate and comes with customization options like subtitles, multiple user profiles, and more.

SoundCloud will find your next jam.

SoundCloud

We wish other apps took cues from SoundCloud on how to build an intuitive and friendly music player. The app’s swipeable interface is great for skipping part of a song and navigating between playlists.

With access to all of SoundCloud’s millions of tracks, you can queue up a song you like and the app will continue to play music that’s similar.

SoundHound will discover music playing around you.

SoundHound

Like Shazam, SoundHound listens to your surroundings to identify whatever music is playing. What sets SoundHound apart from Shazam, though, is that it can also detect songs you sing into your phone. And yes, this works even if you’re not the greatest singer in the world.

Once recognized, it can help you add the song to Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, or Rdio. There’s even a built-in lyrics engine for when you want to sign along.

Price: FreeAvailable on: iOS, Android

GIF Keyboard will help you find the perfect GIF for every moment.

GIF Keyboard

This third-party keyboard for the iPhone lets you quickly send an animated GIF from anywhere you can type. You can search for specific memes and save your favorite GIFs for quick access.

Hulu will help you cut the cord.

Hulu

If you’re trying to “cut the cord” and get rid of your cable or satellite service, Hulu is a no-brainer. The service (which is co-owned by NBC, ABC, and Fox) has scored the rights to stream all kinds of shows, including all nine seasons of “Seinfeld.” The app is lightweight and makes it easy to watch content on the go or at your big screen.

We preferred Hulu when it barely had commercials, but even with the introduction of more ads over time, the service has managed to stay innovative. If you don’t mind a few commercials sprinkled throughout shows, you pay just $7.99 per month. Otherwise, you can pay for a no-commercial plan for $11.99 per month.

Price: Free to watch some shows on some devices, but full access startsat $7.99 per monthAvailable on: iOS, Android

Overcast is the best app for playing podcasts.

Overcast

Overcast is hands down the best podcast player for the iPhone.

Overcast has a great interface, can stream shows as well as download them, and includes a built-in discovery tool for finding new shows. It also has smart audio effects that help you speed up slow talkers and remove any silent audio during playback.

The Kylie Jenner Official App is all about the power of celebrity.

Kylie Jenner

It’s not that Kylie Jenner’s official app is a triumph of design, but it is an early look at where the future of celebrity is headed. Jenner’s official app shot to the top of the App Store’s charts and stayed there for several days after it came out in September.

Now her app, which includes makeup tutorials and fashion advice for her legions of fans — she’s the youngest daughter in the Jenner-Kardashian clan — is set to generate $32 million in its first year. Expect to start seeing a many more celebrity apps like this one.

Price: FreeAvailable on: iOS, Android

SeatGeek will help you find your next concert ticket.

SeatGeek

SeatGeek is a dream come true for anyone who’s gone through the process of buying concert and event tickets from online resellers. The service scans all of the popular sites where sellers post their tickets and shows you the best options based on your search.

The mobile app is unparalleled in its interactive seating chart interface, which includes photographs from inside every venue so you know exactly the view you’ll get from each seat.

MLB.com At Bat is a baseball fanatic’s dream app.

MLB.com

MLB.com is leading the way with streaming sports technology, and its app is the ultimate tool for baseball fans. You get all the stats and score information you could possibly want about your favorite teams, along with live video of games (for MLB.tv subscribers) and game highlights on the iPad.

ESPN will keep track of all your sports favorite teams.

ESPN

ESPN’s app delivers the latest sports news from the MLB, NFL, College Football, NBA, College Basketball, MLS, and more. It’s the best overall app for sports fans to stay on top of games and the latest news.

You can follow scores from multiple leagues in a calendar, set up custom push notifications for game alerts, listen to ESPN Radio for free, and get the latest news stories.

Google Photos is the best photo management solution.

Google

Google Photos is the best app for managing and storing your photos in the cloud. Its interface is super easy to understand, and it has features that your camera roll doesn’t, like facial recognition and the ability to search for what’s in a photo by simply typing in a word.

VSCO Cam will make your pictures look better.

VSCO

If you want to make the photos you take on your smartphone look better, one of VSCO Cam’s dozens of retro film filters will do the trick. The app offers more editing capabilities than Instagram, and each filter preset is designed to emulate the effect of an old-school film camera.

VSCO offers free cloud syncing and uploads to a personalized VSCO Grid account, which is essentially a hi-res, ultra minimalist version of Instagram that has less of a focus on social networking and more of a focus on pretty pictures.

Hyperlapse makes your videos look cool.

Instagram

Instagram’s Hyperlapse app takes video shot on the iPhone, stabilizes it, and lets you speed it up or slow it down. Say goodbye to those shaky hands. It’s a great way to create a timelapse effect without a high-powered camera.

Photoshop Fix is a powerful image editor.

Adobe

Take the essence of Photoshop, distill it into a mobile app, and you get Adobe’s Photoshop Fix, a powerful image editor that lets you do things like remove red eye, paint with brushes, and even remove unwanted parts of a photo altogether.

While it’s certainly not as full-featured as its desktop counterpart, Photoshop Fix is an impressive image editor to have on the go.

Over is a creative photo editor.

Over

Over used to just be about putting text on top of photos, but with a recent update it’s evolved into a creative workhorse.

With Over’s mobile app, you can design a greeting card, visualize an idea, create a graphic, caption a photo, and more. The app has a built-in store with all kinds of add-ons and font packs for even more customization.

Giphy Cam lets you make GIFs with your camera.

If you spend a decent amount of time on the internet, chances are you’ve stumbled across at least a few animated GIFs hosted on Giphy.

Giphy Cam lets you make your own GIFs using your iPhone’s camera. The app imports 5-second bursts of video and spices them up with filters, special effects, and text. It’s addicting and fun.

Price: FreeAvailable on: iOS, Android

Skye Gould/Tech Insider

Citymapper will help you get around a big city.

Citymapper

Navigating through public transit in a big city can be overwhelming, but Citymapper makes it easier. The app digests all of the public transit options available and helps you get from point A to point B without losing your way.

There are all kinds of little bells and whistles in the app that make it the ultimate digital chauffeur, including “get off” alarms that tell you when your stop is approaching, the ability to show you the optimal place to stand in the subway to get to your next stop, and the option to plan your journey ahead of time.

Lyft will hail a car.

Lyft

Besides its functionality as a hide railing service, Lyft plays an important role as Uber’s main competitor. The two apps go head-to-head when it comes to just about every feature, down to UberPool and Lyft Line, options in the apps that match riders traveling along the same route, which cuts costs.

When Uber starting offering UberPool rides in New York City for a flat fee of $10 over the summer, Lyft countered with $5 Line rides. As long as Lyft can keep Uber on its toes and compete on price, it’ll have our vote.

Airbnb will find you a place to stay.

Airbnb

Thanks to Airbnb, it’s never been easier to find a cheap place to stay nearly anywhere in the world. Don’t believe us? Download the app and plug in where you want to go. You’ll likely see all kinds of places from hosts renting out their guestrooms or entire homes. (You may even find a castle, farm, or tree house.)

The app has helpful search filters and in-app messaging for contacting hosts, and takes a lot of the stress out of finding a place to stay.

Waze will alert you about traffic and other dangers on the road.

Waze

The Google-owned Waze app uses feedback from other users to alert you about traffic, detours, police traps, and even road kill.

You can share your ETA with others, see the ETA of friends traveling to the same destination, and quickly alert other Waze users about incidents on the road while you’re guided by turn-by-turn navigation.

The app’s design has looked pretty outdated for a while, but it recently got updated with a fresh look that feels more modern.

Foursquare will find you a place to eat and more.

Foursquare

Once the top app for checking into places and rating them with reviews, Foursquare almost faded into obscurity with the rise of Yelp.

But Foursquare is going through a renaissance. Since breaking its check-in-based social network out into a separate app called Swarm, the main app has gotten better than ever. Not only does it have a wealth of community feedback on restaurants around the world (try searching “free WiFi” next time you’re trying to find a coffee shop), but its use of push notifications to aid in the discovery of new places is unmatched.

App in the Air is your flight assistant in the sky.

App in the Air

App in the Air is like having a personal assistant for your flights. The app gives you real time status updates on flights, airport navigation maps and tips, weather forecasts, and a breakdown of your itinerary.

Companion will help you feel safe walking home.

Companion

Companion makes sure you never walk home along again. The app sets you up with another person who can track your progress on a map using your phone’s GPS. By tapping into your phone’s sensors, Companion can detect if you start running or have your headphones yanked out. Eventually, it will be able to detect your heartbeat on the Apple Watch.

Law enforcement is starting to partner with Companion to aid people in reporting areas where they feel unsafe or getting help in an emergency. “We’ve seen that people have the app open, or they’re using it during a trip, and they have peace of mind,” Danny Freed, the app’s co-founder, told Tech Insider.

Robinhood will help you trade stocks.

Acorns will help you save.

Acorns

Acorns makes saving money easy. It takes the spare change from your daily purchases by rounding up to the nearest dollar and investing the difference into five diversified portfolios. You can also invest lump sums of your choosing at any time.

Its investing formula is backed by Nobel Prize winning economist and the father of Modern Portfolio Theory, Dr. Harry Markowitz.

Price: $1 per month for accounts with a balance under $5,000, 0.25% per year for accounts over $5,000Available on:iOS, Android, web

AwardMe will help you maximize the rewards that come with your credit cards.

AwardMe

AwardMe keeps track of all the best credit cards and helps you maximize your points and rewards. If you’ve ever been confused about what kinds of credit card rewards programs you should consider, this app is for you.

Venmo lets you send other people money.

Venmo

Venmo has become synonymous with mobile payments. It’s the easiest way to pay someone without using cash.

The app syncs with your checking account or debit card for transactions. Soon you’ll be able to set up groups in the app for managing transactions you want shared between people — perfect for paying rent.

Venmo is also a mini-social network. You can see what other people are paying each other for along with playful emoji descriptions. Just don’t get “Venvy.” (And yes, you can make private payments).

Starbucks is mobile ordering done right.

Starbucks

Whether you like the company’s drinks or not, Starbucks is leading the way in its industry with mobile payments and its app. The coffee chain recently added mobile ordering to its locations nationwide, and it’s planning to integrate with Apple Pay soon.

Reserve will help you make a restaurant reservation and pay for your meal.

Reserve

Reserve handles your dining experience from start to finish. You can use the app to book a reservation at restaurants in New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The app acts as your mediator with the restaurant for handling anything that may come up, like a reservation time change.

When you arrive, you pay for your meal through the app. Bills can even be split if you’re with a group. The goal is to make eating out as frictionless as a ride with Uber.

Price: Free to download with a $5 concierge fee added to every billAvailable on:iOS, Android

Everlane makes it easy to shop for clothes from your iPhone.

Everlane

Everlane is a retailer that truly get online shopping. Since the brand has no physical stores, it makes its web and mobile apps the best they can be — and it shows.

From the iPhone, you can browse all the collections of clothes and shoes, add items to your bag for later, edit your wait list, and check out with Apple Pay.

The Apple Store app is a useful addition to the retail experience.

Apple

The official Apple Store is the future of mobile shopping. Not only can you easily browse and order from Apple’s online store, but you can also pay for things in a physical store by scanning barcodes with your phone’s camera.

The app also makes it easy to find a store and book a Genius Bar appointment. Once you’ve arrived at the Apple Store, push notifications guide you through the check-in process.

Land’s End will make you believe in virtual reality.

ustwo

Ustwo’s upcoming game, Land’s End, is the first virtual reality game we’ve tried that feels ready to go mainstream. Its beautiful and immersive design will suck you in.

What makes Land’s End compelling in virtual reality is that there are no physical controls. You interact with the enviroment by turning your head and focusing on points throughout the levels. It’s a wordless, mysterious story that will leave you wanting more.

We love Land’s End so much that it’s the only app on this list that isn’t available yet. It comes out October 30.

Available on: Samsung Gear VR headset

Monument Valley is a beautiful puzzler.

iTunes

Apple’s Game of the Year for 2014 is still just as good in 2015. Monument Valley is a gorgeous puzzler with a wonderful soundtrack. It will definitely go down as one of the greatest iPhone games of all time.

Alto’s Adventure is a causal endless runner with character.

iTunes

Alto’s Adventure is just the right mix of difficulty and causal gameplay. In this endless runner, you have the option to play as several different characters who try to ski down a mountain and avoid obstacles. The design, music, and intuitive controls make it a game worth playing.

The “Game of Thrones” series by Telltale is an impressive blend of gaming and storytelling.

Telltale

Telltale’s game series for the hit HBO show “Game of Thrones” is premium entertainment. It’s more of an interactive movie than a game. You play as some popular and more unknown characters in Westeros and interact with storylines that aren’t focused on in the show.

How you make decisions during gameplay affects the outcome of the story. Even if you haven’t seen “Game of Thrones,” you’ll appreciate the game for its impressive graphics, excellent voice acting, and engaging plot.

Minecraft is the hottest game on the planet.

Mojang

Minecraft needs little introduction. If you haven’t played it, you know a kid who plays it for hours every day. The Pocket Edition game is universally loved (4.5 star average rating in the App Store) and it’s updated frequently with new content.